Hi all,

I have a '96 4x4 5.2 Dakota and I was wondering if you guys could help me out. I know I need to replace my ball joints and CV Joints, but I was wondering if you could get me a list of other front end drivetrain and suspension components I will need to or should replace while I'm in there and a list of any special tools I will need.

Thanks

 

You can also do the inner and outer tie rods. Is anything else worn or starting to fail in the front end? If not, you probably don't have to really worry about it for awhile.

 

I could probably use some new control and pittman arms too. I just rolled over 230k so I think just about everything could use some help.

 

Shocks, put in a steering stabilizer maybe to.

 

I just redid most of my front end parts
Upper and lower balljoints, inner and outer tie rods with the middle piece. shocks, and axles
you could do the pitman arm, lower control arms if the bushings are gone. you should do your hub bearings too. calipers and rotors if needed.
To start, you will need a socket for the upper balljoints. Hopefully someone else will chime in with the size as I am unsure but if you search around on here you will find it

 

do a ball joint search and you should find a thread i did couple months ago that kind of shows how to do it. what ever you do, do not use cheap asian parts or youll regret it later. ball joints, upper bushings, tie rods, cv axles, hubs, seals, all this stuff will probly be well over $1000 for a decent brand. i would consider moog a decent brand. of course theres probly better stuff out there but your talking even more money. you need a special socket for the upper ball joint, autozone has it for like $20 but i cant recall the size. i can look in the garage tomorow to find the size. strong impact gun for the top balljoint is also very handy when taking it out. also need a balljoint press kit for the bottom one, can rent it at autozone. and if you plan to replace the outer axle tube bearing you need a bearing remover tool from autozone but you can rent it. dload the service manual here and start reading to get a idea what your up against. it aint a difficult procedure but takes time. i recomend following all service manual torque specs as well, unless noted otherwise by the part manufacturer. probly want to have it realigned after you install all the new parts